Skip to main content

Four Threshers Among FSL All-stars

By
On Thursday, the Class A Advanced Florida State League announced its mid-season All-star rosters. Among the players chosen were four members of the Phillies' Clearwater Threshers club. Pitchers Julio Rodriguez, Jonathan Pettibone, Justin Friend and their battery mate Sebastian Valle were all selected to represent Clearwater on the North division squad in the annual exhibition to be held on Saturday, June 18th.

Clearwater will host the game at Bright House Field, the spring training home of the Phillies.

Rodriguez, 20, has posted a 6-3 record with a 2.28 ERA in 10 starts this season. Despite losing a stretch of 3 straight starts recently, Rodriguez has maintained strong numbers all season long. Last year, the right-handed Rodriguez was an integral addition to the Lakewood BlueClaws roster that locked down its second consecutive South Atlantic League title.

Pettibone, another 20-year-old righty hurler, is 5-4 with a 2.03 ERA in 11 starts for Clearwater. Pettibone's ERA currently ranks second among starters in the FSL. Pettibone was a mainstay on the championship Lakewood pitching staff a year ago as well.

Threshers closer Justin Friend, a selection in the minor league portion of last off-season's Rule 5 draft, is tied for the minor league lead in saves with 18 and leads the FSL in batting average against with a spectacular .136 mark. The righty Friend was originally selected in the 13th round of the 2007 amateur draft by Oakland out of Oklahoma State University.

At 24-years-old with an ERA of 1.11, in addition to his other stats in High A level, it is likely that Friend could see a promotion upward sooner than later.

Through 34 games this season, the righty hitting Valle is batting .338 with 3 homeruns and 17 RBI. The 20-year-old Mexico native is often credited with guiding the Threshers' strong pitching staff, even by the pitchers themselves.

Valle, a righty batter, was also a member of the title winning Lakewood team each of the past two seasons. He was named to the SAL postseason all-star team last season as a member of the BlueClaws.

Also slated to be included in the Florida State League All-star festivities is baseball's best mascot the Phillie Phanatic, who will be on hand to entertain the capacity crowd.
_______________________________________________________

You can follow PhoulBallz on Twitter by clicking HERE.

You can also connect with PhoulBallz on Facebook by clicking HERE.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sunday School: Phillies History Lesson 73

By
Danny Ozark was the Phillies' manager from 1973-1979. During his tenure as the team's general, Ozark led Philadelphia to three straight division titles. In his playing days, Ozark was a first baseman, who was a career minor leaguer in the Dodgers system. When Ozark took over the team in 1973, the Phillies were fresh off 5 consecutive losing seasons and 3 straight last place finishes. During his first season in charge, the Phillies would again finish in last place, 20 games under .500, but as his core of young talent, like Mike Schmidt and Larry Bowa, developed, the Phillies' win totals rose. Within 2 years, the Phillies were above .500 and in the playoff hunt until late in the season and the most successful era of Phillies history was about to begin. By 1976, the Phillies were headed to the post-season for the first time since 1950. The Phils would enjoy a 10-game lead over their nearest division rival at the midway point of the season. Despite a lul, which saw their lead d...
2 comments
Read more

PhoulBallz Interview: First round pick Bryson Stott

By
Bryson Stott, image- Jay Floyd Shortstop Bryson Stott , the Phillies' first round draft selection this year, has enjoyed a successful initial pro campaign.  En route to being recognized as an All-Star for the Class A short-season Williamsport Crosscutters the 21-year-old UNLV product has tallied a .295 average with six home runs and 25 RBI in 45 minor league contests. Last week I spoke with the lefty hitting Stott to discuss his transition to professional baseball, joining the Phillies organization and plenty more.  Read ahead for that interview.  -Obviously, your performance and the production on the field is going well, but how do you feel you have adapted to the pro life? It feels good.  You hear about the everyday grind, but you don't really believe it till you feel it. I would say that's the difference between college and the pros, is you're not practicing, you're playing games every day.  I would say that's the biggest difference.  But I...
Post a Comment
Read more

Velasquez shut down, Eflin on deck?

By
Eflin with Reading in 2015, image- Jay Floyd Following Vincent Velasquez leaving his start after just two pitches for the Phillies on Wednesday, righty prospect Zach Eflin was pulled from his start for Triple-A Lehigh Valley at Gwinnett. The 22-year-old sports a 5-1 record with a 3.14 ERA and a .210 batting average against in 10 starts for the IronPigs this season. He could take the place of Velasquez if he is required to miss any additional time. Initial word on Velasquez after he threw two fastballs that clocked in the 86-87 MPH range (considerably slower than the 94 MPH he averages) and was swiftly pulled from his outing, is that he has a biceps strain. He'll be further evaluated in the coming days. Prior to the regular season, Eflin got a taste of competing against big leaguers when he was charged with 12 runs (nine earned) on 11 hits while striking out two and walking one with a wild pitch in three innings of work in an intrasquad exhibition that pitted the Phils...
Post a Comment
Read more